Forgotten Girl
by Marshmallows
Summary: Her name means forgotten. she hates her life. but maybe there's someone who can show her how to trust again.
1. Olvidada

I know, i haven't even finished my ther story yet, but give me a break. this popped into my head, and i had to write it down. i'll update it if someone likes it, but there are no promises on when. I love you guys.

I closed my eyes and let the images block out the screaming of my father, wishing he would just shut up for once. "Don't close your eyes!" he yelled. I opened them, but never really focused on him. "Olvidada Garcia! Look at me!" He made me focus on him, then cut me with the broken edge of a Southern Comfort bottle. He liked to make me cry, but I refused to give him the satisfaction. I blocked him out and clenched my teeth. He suddenly started doing things he'd never done before. He started going into my pants.

I lost it. "NO!" I yelled, then kicked him, hard, in the face. He fought back. I grabbed a knife and just... went crazy. "You don't touch me!!" I screamed as he took his last breath. I knew the neighbors would be on the phone to the police any minute now, but in the state I was in, I no longer cared. The knife was covered in his blood. I smiled, satisfied. No one could touch me now. Mom had died a while ago from "falling off the garage roof". Bullshit. He killed her. She and I were practically twins. We're from Cuba, but we moved here for 'a better life.' A better life my ass. We had to move because of his job. He never wanted me, so that's why he named me Olvidada. It means forgotten.

They broke down the door when they came. "What the hell is this?" a police woman asked.

"He try to rape me after he beat me, so I kill him. He went too damn far. He been doing this for years. Is how he killed my mama," I said in my still slightly broken English.

"You have the right to remain silent..." a policeman started to recite. I blocked him out as he cuffed me. A few days later, a trial was held. I plead guilty. I may be a hard-ass, but I've always been honest.

"You have two choices, Olvidada. Camp Greenlake or jail."

I stared hard at him. "Greenlake, sir."

He slammed down the mallet, making me jump. "24 months, Camp Greenlake. Court adjourned."

I was allowed to get some things from my house before I left. I filled my backpack with a few T-shirts, some jeans and knee-length shorts, under garments, feminine supplies, my mothers journals from when she was young, and my sketchbook. After thinking a few minutes, I grabbed my two-piece swimsuit and a new, empty sketchbook so I wouldn't run out of paper. I then sat downstairs, carving words into my arms with my pocket knife. I liked the pain. It was something new to me. It was a rush to my head. I then realized I'd written Forgotten on my arm in big, bold letters. I pocketed my knife when I heard the rumble of a bus and went outside.

"Olvidada Garcia?"

"Yes." He pointed and I stepped onto the bus where I saw a boy sitting in the middle left seat. I took the middle right and nodded at him. He nodded back. The guard handcuffed me to the seat. "Cual es la idea grande?!" I screeched. (What is the big idea?!) He acted like he hadn't heard me and the bus pulled away. The tiny African-American boy looked at my arm. I shrugged and he looked at the rest of me. I'm 5'6 with my mama's long, straight black hair, black eyes, dark skin, and what she liked to call the meat on our bones. She was a firm believer that all women should have hips, thighs, and breasts. Well, we did. I still do. I refuse to draw attention to it though. He still looked at me, that boy. I moved my limber body so I could get my knife out of my knee-pocket to pick the lock. When the guard's glasses slid down, I saw that he was asleep. The driver obviously didn't care. I removed the cuffs, then looked at the boy. He was half asleep. I took off the cuffs for him. He smiled sleepily at me as I squeezed his shoulder and went back to my seat. I couldn't help but laugh a little as I put my knife away. Americans. I slept until we got there, wherever that was. We just dropped our cuffs in the guard's hand as we got off the bus. When I realized it was an all boys camp, I started screaming. "No! Usted no pueda ponerme en una tienda con los muchachos! Era un varon que casi me mato!" (No! you can not put me in a tent with boys! It was a male who almost killed me!)

"Talk English!" The man yelled at me. "This is not Mexico, Girl Scout!"

"I from Costa Rica!" I screeched, jumping up and knocking over my chair. He looked almost... scared. "Do not call me Mexican, or Girl Scout, or whatever hell else you think up! MY NAME IS OLVIDADA!!" I spat in his face.

An all-too-happy man came in smiling. "Olvidada, Hector, I'm Mr. Pendanski." I tuned him out as we followed him to a tent marked with a capital D. "Olvidada, you were put in this tent because none of the boys in here have been charged with sexual crimes." I was grateful for that, but still wondered weather or not they would try anything. We walked into the tent. "Boys, this is Olvidada and Hector."

"A chica?!" the Mexican boy asked in amazement.

"Yes Jose. Now, she's here because she also did wrong, so I suggest you not mess with her. She could probably kill you if she wanted." I snarled at him, this Pendanski man. He backed off. "Jose, you'll be her mentor. Ricky, you will be Hectors mentor."

"I haven't seen a girl in so long..." The black boy with glasses said, coming towards me like he wanted to touch me.

"No! Nadie tactos yo, entienden? Le matare si usted!" (No! No one touches me, understand? I will kill you if you do!) I yelled at him.

"Huh?" they all asked. Except for Jose.

He sighed. "She doesn't want you to touch her. She'll kill you if you do. By the way, chica, don't call me Jose. It's Magnet. That's Squid, X-ray, Armpit, Zigzag, and Barfbag. I know you can speak English. We all heard you in Mr. Sir's office."

"You know what the hell I do to get here? I kill my father. He try to rape me and he beat me. That how my mama died, okay? That how I was going to die too." I was holding back tears as I left the tent. I heard footsteps behind me and saw the one they called Squid. "What the hell you want?"

He hugged me. "I know what you went through, okay? I'm here if you ever want to talk." He left before I could say a word. I looked around the camp. It looked like it had once been a tiny town.

"Hey, it's Olvidada, right?" Magnet asked. I nodded, tensing, not trusting him farther than I could throw him. "Hey, just so you know, you're not forgotten. When you get out of here, we'll be around. I can promise you that. We were just talking in the tent. Come on back with me." He offered his hand for me to take. I did so hesitantly. "Come on, hermosa, I won't bite, I promise." (Beautiful)

He must have been at least 5'10 or so and growing, but he wasn't intimidating, unlike some of the others. When we got back to the tent, he gently put his arm around my back. "Well, it's about time you two got back," X-ray laughed. I snarled at him. I trusted him less than I did the others. He backed off. A bell rang. "Dinner time."

I followed Magnet through the line, getting the disgusting looking food. When I sat down, I stabbed it with my fork. "Es esta mierda alambique vivo? La pienso guinada en mi!" I exclaimed. (is this shit still alive? I think it winked at me!)

Magnet laughed. "No, el miradas justas que el Zigzag de la manera la misma cosa. "(No, it just looks that way. Zigzag thinks the same thing.) I smiled widely at him.

"Hey, you two. This is Am-er-I-ca, not Mexico. We speak English here."

We both glared at Armpit, but I spoke first. "I am not from Mexico. I am from Costa Rica! And no shit you speak English here. I only been here what, a year? I know what language you speak!" I was screaming in his face, despite the fact that he had a weight advantage.

Then Magnet spoke. "I'm not from Mexico either, Pit. Man, you should know by now I'm from Panama. I told you a million times, I lived here in the states for about 2 years before I got sent here." He was obviously angry, but kept a calm exterior. I think that's what scared him the most. Magnet gently pulled me back onto the bench. "Es aceptable. El es apenas estupido, usted conseguira utilizado a el." ( It's okay. He's just stupid, you'll get used to it.) I laughed out loud. He laughed with me. They just stared at us. X-ray was glaring at magnet with a look of pure jealousy. When I looked at him, he looked at his plate.

I burst out laughing anew. He liked me! HA! That bastard. He'd never get close to me, ever. He reminded me too much of my Papa. Too intimidating. He still stared. I looked hard at him. "Take a picture. It last longer," I said, getting up from the table. I went into the tent, then sat on my cot and read my mother's journals. She knew how to write in perfect English, but speaking it was something else. It's the same with me. '_I gave birth to my daughter yesterday. He named her Olvidada. Forgotten. She's so beautiful, but he doesn't want her. But I love her, so she stays, thank God. The condition that she stays on is he got to name her. I wanted to name her Estrella. She really is a star. She has stars in her eyes. I hate him, but if I leave, he'll hunt me down.'_

"Why are you crying?" Squid's voice asked.

I gasped. He'd been watching me. "None of your business."

He raised his eyebrows. "So? I intend to make it my business."

"Leave me alone, Calamar."

"What did you call me?"

"Your name in Spanish, estupido," I said. He picked up and read what I'd read. "What, you think you learn my life that way? Give it back."

"Estrella?" I nodded and started to cry harder. I guess he knew better than to touch me anywhere but my hands, which he did. I looked up at him. "You know, you don't have to be so mean to X-ray. He's got a crush on you. So what? You're a beautiful girl, you'd think you'd be used to it by now. But anyway, Mag wants to know if you want to come play pool."

I smiled wickedly. I'm what you'd call a pool shark.


	2. Pool Shark

"So, someone wanted to play pool?" I asked.

Magnet nodded. "Yeah. You know how to play?"

I shrugged. "Eh, a little." I lied. I know just how to play them. "How about we bet... ahh... these." I pulled two coins from my pocket. "One, to start."

"Shower tokens? All right. Works for me, chica. I'll break." He broke, a stripe went in. "You're solids."

I missed purposely and scratched. It went on like that until he won. "All right... double or nothing."

"You sure? You kinda suck." I nodded and we played. This time, I showed no mercy and called the eight ball on my first shot and made it. He just stood there. "Holy... I thought you couldn't play!"

I grinned wickedly. "I am... how do you say.... Pool shark?"

He grinned. "cool. You know, I think you'll fit in just fine around here." He nodded at some of the guys... Squid, Armpit, and X-ray walked over. "Hey, X, can I give her the nickname?"

"Not yet, man. Squid has an idea, but we have to think about it. She's a hard one to name." X-ray was still staring at me. I glared right back. "How about we call her 'bitch' ?"

I growled and was on top of him in a second, about 6 inches from his face. "If you ever... degrade me again, I kill you. Got it?" He was shaking. "And you ever think of touching me, you die." I twisted his wrist until he looked about to pass out, then let go and got off. "That go for everyone." I watched while X-ray stood up, looking at me just a little differently. I arched my eyebrows.

"Olvidada, let me just say you're the first person ever to jump him like that. I say we call you Estrella." It was Squid who'd spoken.

I drew in a sharp breath. "No. Please, that was Mama's name for me."

"So it'd be like keeping her spirit alive, right?" he challenged. "Hey, at least she cared while she was alive. And check it out, " He said as we walked back to the tent. "This will be like remembering who cared. You don't want to be called forgotten all your life, right?" I nodded. "So Estrella's okay, right?"

I looked up at him. "Yes. Thank you." Magnet came up from behind me and picked me up. "Hey! Puesto me abajo, Iman!" (put me down, magnet!)

He laughed. "Ninguna manera! Usted es demasiada bonita dejo para ir!" (No way! You're too pretty to let go!) He laughed, holding me closer. I blushed and covered my face. "No, de que es la mejor parte! No lo cubra para arriba!" (No, that's the best part! Don't cover it up!) He said, laughing, still holding me.

"Cierre para arriba! No es!" I exclaimed, embarrassed. (Shut up! It is not!) Squid had walked away by then, and we were in the tent, alone. "Please put me down."

He put me down on my cot, then sat next to me. "You know, Estrella, you really are beautiful. I just wish you could see it." I started to blush. He laughed and put his arm around me somewhat hesitantly. When I didn't hit him, he relaxed.

Just then, Senor Pluma- bailar- llave (Mr. Pen-dance-key) yelled, "LIGHTS OUT!"

We both jumped and all of us changed for bed and went to sleep. Well, except me. I never sleep. I don't think I ever get more than 4 hours a night. I whispered a soft verse, one mama used to sing me to sleep with. "One day I'll fly away/ leave all this to yesterday/ why live life from dream to dream/ and dread the day that dreaming ends..."

"I don't know. Why?" Squid whispered from the cot next to mine. His voice sounded choked, like he was crying.

I grabbed his hand and started feeling scars on his arm. "I don't know either."

"I was saying you're lucky your mom cared about you because neither of my parents do. Dad left when I was three, and Mama's a drunk. All the scars come from her."

I held his hand a little longer. "When you want to.... Talk, I be here for you." He squeezed my hand tightly. "You come to me with anything, I promise I listen. You make me worry about you now." He laughed softly. "What?"

"No one's worried about me in a long time."

I sighed. "Well, get used to it. I worry all the time. Especially about my friends." He shifted. "Good night." There was no reply for a while. I felt his wrist for a pulse, worried out of my mind.

"I'm still here, Estrella. I was just wondering if you'd care enough to check. Good night, sweet heart."

I sighed, letting my mind drift. On one hand, Magnet and I were obviously very compatible. On the other.... Squid was... well, wow. I sighed. Boys are weird. So is growing up someplace where you have to relearn everything in school. I hate it, but at the same time.... If I weren't here, where would I be?

I thought about that until the watch on my wrist read midnight. Then I went to sleep, finally tired. I still woke up before the bell at 4:15, but at least I'd slept. Zero was awake as well. I smiled at him. "Morning," he whispered.

I brushed my hair. "Good morning. How was yesterday for you?"

He shrugged. "Fine."

I wanted to sing, desperately. I'm obsessed. I admit it. It was only five more minutes, and anyway, they were half awake anyway. "I know I'm kinda strange to you sometimes/ don't always say what's on my mind/ you know that I've been hurt by some guy/ but I don't wanna mess up this timeand I really really really care/ and I really really really want you to know/ and I think I'm kinda scared/ cos I don't want to lose you/ if you really really really care/ then maybe you can hang through/ I hope you understand/ it's nothing to you/ My heart's at a low/ I'm so much to manage/ I think you should know that I've been damaged/ I'm falling in love/ there's one disadvantage/ I think you should know that I've been damaged/ I might look through your stuff for what I don't wanna find/ or I might just set you up to see if you're all mine/ I'm a little paranoid from what I've been through/ Don't know what you got yourself into-"(TLC Damaged)

"Girl, you better keep singin' like that while we dig, 'cause that could keep me awake all day!" Magnet laughed while he dressed.

"And that's saying something!" Zigzag laughed. I looked up at him and smiled. He's alright.

Squid was still laying there with his hair in his face. I leaned over him. "SQUID!" I yelled. He shot up and rammed his head into mine. "OW!"

"Ugh..." He rubbed his head. "Thank you so much, Estrella. That's exactly how I wanted to start my day."

I grinned widely at him and took his hat. "Come on. We have to dig." Then I ran out of the tent as he got dressed and put his hat on, not planning to take it off anytime soon. When he got out after me, he looked thoroughly pissed off.

"Give. Me. My. Hat."

I gave him a syrupy sweet smile. "What is the magic word?"

He glared at me. "You're dead." I must have looked pretty shocked, because he started to laugh. "I'm kidding! Geez, from the look on your face, I've just sprouted horns and a tail!"

I sighed with relief and gave him his hat. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

I rolled my eyes as I grabbed my shovel. It felt good in my hands, like that was where it belonged. "You don' look fine." He just walked away. Barfbag fell into step next to me, looking determined about something or other. "Buenos dias. Como estas usted?"

He looked slightly green. "Terrible." I looked at him questioningly. He just muttered something about a rattlesnake and walked off. I sighed.

When we started to dig, I found it hard, yeah, but I was so used to physical pain... well, I just stopped worrying about it and took out my anger on the dirt. I wasn't really there. I was flying, dancing in the wind, loving life. My hair blew everywhere and my hands bled, but somehow, I heard nothing until Barfbag yelled. I just froze in terror. "Vaya con Dios!!" I yelled. I stood frozen to my spot until Pendanski came and got him. Growling in anger, I dug harder and harder, until my hands burned and it was time for lunch. When I tried to climb out of my hole, I fell right back in. Magnet reached his hand down and grabbed my arms instead of my hand and pulled me up without my helping him too much.

"Dang, chica, you're light!"

I shrugged. "So?"

"What? Did I do something?"

"No."

(hey, sorry this took so long. And I know that COLA won't be updated for a while.... Simply because my computer's being retarded and not letting me get to it. Lol. Peace, love, and bullet-proof marshmallows!!!)


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